State Plans a Future for Horses at Will Rogers

People go head over heels for horses, said Denise Degraff, a former horse boarder at Will Rogers State Historic Park who attended the first meeting convened by California State Parks last week to develop an equestrian plan for the ranch. It has been a little over three years since the horses were ordered to decamp from the 186-acre property. At that time, years of deferred maintenance at the ranch necessitated emergency attention, which included suspending all horse-boarding until State Parks could develop a comprehensive plan for a horse presence at the ranch. Improvements at the ranch are continuing nonstop. The 5,000 artifacts from the ranch house have been inventoried and catalogued; the master drainage plan is completed; the hay barn has been stabilized; the historic landscape plan is done; Jim Rogers’ barn is 90 percent completed; and historic farm equipment will soon be returned. The ranch house will reopen this fall. Last week’s meeting at the Skirball Center was convened by Jennifer Ruffolo, a State Park Cultural Resources Specialist who is charged with writing the plan. Representatives from State Parks joined in the conversation along with Will Rogers’ grandchildren Chuck Rogers and Betty Rogers Brandin, polo players, former boarders, trainers and Will Rogers Cooperative Association members. Everyone agreed that horses belong at the ranch, but the number of horses, how they would be used and how they would be housed were the questions. Polo player Leigh Brecheen was most passionate in her lobby for allowing horses to board at the ranch. ‘Excluding horses will put a nail in the coffin for people living on the Westside having horses as part of their environment,’ she said. ‘The pollution caused by trucking horses in and out of the park would be a big issue for the people in the neighborhood.’ Randy Young, president of the WRCA, agreed that horses should be a part of the scene, but cautioned that a balance must be maintained so the ‘horses don’t overwhelm the park. We need a stage-by-stage approach to reintroducing them.’ Young pointed out that the deed of gift from the Rogers’ family bans leasing or renting privately. He added that in that same document, horses were not mentioned as being integral to the ranch, only that the park be a memorial to Will Rogers’ life and to the people of California. Chuck Rogers’ own frustration with the State’s poor job at maintaining the park and inconsistent management of the boarding operation fueled the intense $5.3 million renovation effort that began in November 2002. He called for a more balanced look at Will’s life. ‘Less than 10 percent of his life was about horses, 15 percent about movies,’ he said. ‘I’d like to see access to facilities as broad as possible. I’d like to see videos of his life that include horses, but also films of him barbecuing with all his friends and dignitaries on the porch. I’d like to see the tour buses going through there on the weekends.’ Chuck Rogers’ desire for a more comprehensive look at his grandfather’s life was echoed by Trudy Sandemeier, considered a part of the Rogers family. Her grandfather Emil was ranch foreman during Will’s life and after he died in 1935. ‘General interpretation of Will Rogers’ life has disappeared from the park,’ she said. ‘Many people don’t know about Will Rogers, his radio and movie career and his interest in aviation.’ Will Rogers State Historical Park has a general plan, which states that the park is to be operated as a memorial to Will Rogers for the benefit of the public. Everything in the park should be consistent with the general plan. The Landscape Management Plan describes goals for restoring the park to the way it was at time of the actor’s death. Ruffolo said that ‘an equestrian plan should look at the policies and guidelines for facility protection, which include making sure that the riding and roping areas are not overused; that fencing, vegetation and pastures are restored; and interpretive activities encouraged, such as roping and wrangling clinics, horseshoe and trick-riding demonstrations, and perhaps the rudiments of polo could be demonstrated.’ Ruffolo hopes that some equestrian activities can be started as early as August. In the meantime she will be preparing the draft plan to be reviewed at another public meeting.